


Breathing

by sfmpco



Series: Breathing Lessons [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock - Fandom, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, labor pains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 13:49:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3898630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sfmpco/pseuds/sfmpco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock and Molly share some quiet moments in the early stages of labor before their first child is born.</p><p>- I have taken a day off from writing my book, THE BLACKBIRD AND THE SPARROW'S NEST because this one-shot was begging me to write it.  Please check out my other Sherlock works!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathing

Sherlock was wide awake, attuned to every noise in the dark of the bedroom at just past 0200 hours. A sound had awoken him. It wasn’t the type of sound to signal a break-in and yet his heartbeat immediately had quickened, and all his senses were on high alert.

Molly was turned away from him and was completely quiet and still. It was unusual for her to be so quiet as she sometimes had a slight, purring snore that he thought was endearing. Of course she always insisted she was a silent sleeper, but he knew differently.

Perhaps it was just a dream that had awoken him, and after nearly fifteen minutes of listening to nearly complete silence he felt his eyes grow heavy with the desire to sleep. And then he heard it again, and his eyes popped open.

Her breathing became steady and measured. She was being purposefully quiet so as not to awaken him, but he could hear it. He could hear her catch her breath for a few moments followed by a wincing breath and then back to the measured breathing and the silence. That was a labor pain, and he knew it.

He turned to her and spooned behind her and gently laid his hand on her very swollen belly. “What do you need?” he asked quietly as he tenderly stroked her hair away from her face.

“Did I wake you? Sorry.” She said.

He kissed her cheek sweetly. “What is the pain on a scale of one to ten?”

“I don’t know how high ten is.” She said.

“Being bitten in half by a bear.” He said.

“Lovely image, thank you.” she scowled, and then she added. “Maybe a three or four. It’s in my lower back mostly.”

“Would a hot water bottle help?” he asked.

“Maybe.” She nodded.

He immediately got up from bed and went into the bathroom. He rummaged through the items in the cupboard beneath the sink until he found the water bottle, and he filled it with hot water, wrapped it in a thin towel and returned to bed. He lifted her gown and placed it against her lower back, and she hissed at the touch of it. It was warmer than she was expecting, but she did not ask him to remove it. He spooned behind her again to help keep pressure on the water bottle, and she sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

“Better?” he asked, and she murmured her agreement.

He gently stroked her belly while she rested quietly, and they both managed about fifteen minutes of sleep before he was awoken again by her measured breathing.

He stroked her belly through the pain and watched in the darkness and in silence. She exhaled deeply when it was over, shifted her position slightly, and then closed her eyes again in an attempt to steal as much sleep as possible. When Sherlock started to say something, she put her finger to her lips and shushed him.

He listened and breathed with her for the next three hours as she experienced several more contractions. She was progressing faster than either was expecting however, and by 0530 she pushed herself up and sat on the edge of the bed, her hands fixed to her lower back as she tried to stretch her spine. He knelt on the bed behind her and firmly rubbed her lower back.

“Less than twenty-four hours and we’ll be holding the baby.” She said. “That feels good.”

“Everything is ready. No stone of preparation left unturned.” He said quietly. “We just need you to do the hard part, and if I could do it for you I would.”

She reached back and patted his cheek. “Men don’t have the pain threshold that women do, but thanks for trying.”

It was at that moment that another pain started and so did her deep breathing, but this pain was a little more intense and required his recently acquired birth class skills to help her through. His voice was low and soothing as she breathed deeply, but now there was pain in the breaths reflected in the rapid intake of air and her first true groan.

“Tell me what you need.” He said again when it was over.

“I need it to be tomorrow.” She said. Tears filled her eyes and just as suddenly spilled down her cheeks. “Sorry. Sorry.” She said as she wiped them away.

“What are you sorry about?” he asked.

“I’m not feeling very brave right now. I’m a little scared.” she said.

He got off the bed then and went around to her front and bent down and took her hands. Her hands were so small in his large musician’s hands. “Molly, you’re the strongest woman I know. You’ll do fine. And I’ll be right beside you. I won’t leave you for one moment. You just squeeze my hand as hard as you want and yell as loudly as you need. But you will be fine. I know it.”

“There are so many things that could go wrong still.”

“But we’re not focusing on those, are we?” He asked.

She shook her head. “No. I think this baby’s going to come by noon.”

“Do you want me to call a taxi?”

“First things first.” She said, and she started to get up. He immediately offered his support.

She had to pee, and he helped her into the bathroom, cleaned her, then helped her up again. She was a week early, but she had been mentally ready to be done with the pregnancy for the last few weeks. The baby felt huge to her tiny frame, and she felt completely disproportionate.

Afterwards Sherlock called for a taxi and then immediately sent out a group text to John and Mary, Mycroft, his parents and Lestrade, and Molly’s mother.

TAKING MOLLY TO HOSPITAL. LET PARENTHOOD BEGIN! SH

He got dressed quickly in some sweats and helped Molly into shoes and a coat, and then walked her towards the doorway, her suitcase in one hand. She stopped him suddenly and turned to look back. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“It’s the last time it will be just the two of us here.” She said. “The last time.” She had new tears at the sentimentality of the idea.

He rubbed her back soothingly. “Until we get the little bugger off to university.” He said with a wink.

He carefully walked her down the seventeen steps to the front hallway of 221B, and they were just about to exit when Mrs. Hudson’s door opened and she peeked out. “I thought I heard stirring about! Is it time?”

“Yes, yes.” Sherlock said. “Just catching the taxi.”

She scuttled out of her flat in slippers and a robe and gave Molly a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t wait to see you and the baby! And you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you.” Molly smiled, but her smile quickly faded as another pain began.

“Breathe steady. Blow the air out. That’s it.” Sherlock coached. “Steady on. You can do it.”

Molly grimaced at one point, wincing through the worst of the pain, but then her breathing pattern returned to normal, and she took a deep, cleansing breath.

“Off you go then.” Mrs. Hudson encouraged, and she held the door for Sherlock and Molly and watched them get into the waiting taxi just as the sun was starting to rise.

In the back seat of the taxi, Sherlock put his arm around Molly’s shoulders and pulled her close.

“Breathe, Sherlock.” She said when she noticed he was holding his breath.

He let out his air. It was a big day for him, perhaps the most important day of his life. He needed to breathe too.


End file.
